That kind of response suggests millions of customers should learn this rather than hundreds of stations posting a sign, and that's the fundamental backwardsness

That kind of response suggests millions of customers should learn this rather than hundreds of stations posting a sign, and that's the fundamental backwardsness of the "blame the user" approach. And it doesn't work reliably. Yes, if you've been riding for a while, you do pick that up, and it does work in some stations. But, especially in DC, many stations aren't neatly on some cardinal direction, and you are turned around several times, and often not in 90 degree increments, by the time you exit.